Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Pfetch VS Rectangle

Compare Pfetch VS Rectangle and see what are their differences

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Pfetch logo Pfetch

A pretty system information tool written in POSIX

Rectangle logo Rectangle

Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.
  • Pfetch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-02
  • Rectangle Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-20

Pfetch features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Pfetch is a minimalistic tool, meaning it has a very small footprint and doesn't consume much system resources.
  • Customizable
    The tool allows users to customize the output, providing flexibility to display only the information they need.
  • Easy to Use
    Pfetch is straightforward to install and use, with no complex configuration required, making it user-friendly.
  • Aesthetic Output
    The output of Pfetch is designed to be visually appealing, often featuring ASCII art logos and neatly formatted information.
  • Wide Compatibility
    Pfetch works on a variety of UNIX-like systems, making it versatile across different platforms.

Possible disadvantages of Pfetch

  • Limited Information
    Compared to other system information tools, Pfetch provides a more limited set of system details.
  • Manual Updates Required
    Users may need to manually update the script for newer software versions as it doesn't automatically update.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Pfetch lacks some of the more advanced features and details provided by other comprehensive system info tools.
  • Potential Incompatibility
    Although it's widely compatible, there might be some specific systems or configurations where Pfetch does not work perfectly.

Rectangle features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Rectangle offers an intuitive user interface that makes window management straightforward and user-friendly.
  • Customizable Shortcuts
    Users can easily configure keyboard shortcuts to better suit their workflow, making window management faster and more efficient.
  • Free
    Rectangle is available for free, making it accessible to anyone without the need for a financial investment.
  • Frequent Updates
    The app receives regular updates, introducing new features and ensuring compatibility with the latest macOS versions.
  • Lightweight
    Rectangle is a lightweight application that doesn't consume many system resources, ensuring smooth performance even on older Macs.

Possible disadvantages of Rectangle

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Rectangle lacks some of the more advanced features found in paid window management applications, such as multiple monitor support and more complex window arrangements.
  • MacOS Only
    Rectangle is only available for macOS, so users of other operating systems are unable to take advantage of its features.
  • Occasional Bugs
    Some users report occasional bugs or unpredictable behavior, which might require troubleshooting or waiting for a future update.
  • Learning Curve for Shortcuts
    While customizable shortcuts are a benefit, there is an initial learning curve for users to memorize and effectively use these shortcuts.
  • Basic Aesthetic
    The app's design and aesthetic are quite basic, lacking the polish and visual appeal found in some other similar tools.

Analysis of Rectangle

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Rectangle is highly regarded for its ease of use, extensive customization options, and the fact that it is free and open-source. It provides essential functionality without unnecessary complexity, making it suitable for both casual users and power users who need efficient window management.

Why this product is good

  • Rectangle is a popular window management tool for macOS, known for its simplicity and ease of use. It allows users to efficiently organize and resize application windows using customizable keyboard shortcuts or by dragging windows into pre-defined areas of the screen. This can enhance productivity by minimizing the time spent arranging windows and improving multitasking capabilities.

Recommended for

    Rectangle is recommended for macOS users looking for a straightforward, lightweight solution to manage application windows. It is particularly beneficial for those who frequently work with multiple applications at once, including developers, designers, and anyone who values a tidy and organized desktop environment.

Pfetch videos

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Rectangle videos

SKYWALKER RECTANGLE TRAMPOLINE REVIEW!!!

More videos:

  • Review - Skywalker Rectangle Trampoline Review #1
  • Review - Marvin Malton 160 Rectangle Flying Hour Watch Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Pfetch and Rectangle)
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Mac Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Device Management
100 100%
0% 0
Window Manager
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Pfetch and Rectangle

Pfetch Reviews

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Rectangle Reviews

Best 6 Mac Window Managers
Rectangle shows that you donโ€™t need to dip into your bank account to get window resizer tools. This free Mac window manager lets you manage multiple windows using keyboard shortcuts, menu options, or by dragging and dropping. Just like Magnet, you can split your screen up into quarters, thirds, or halves.
Source: mackeeper.com
Top 6 Window Manager Apps for Mac
Most window manager apps for Mac support multiple monitors. They can help you move windows between screens and create custom layouts for each monitor. Many window manager apps โ€“ such as BetterSnapTool, Magnet, and Rectangle โ€“ offer this functionality.
The 6 Best Mac Window Management Tools
However, it might take some time for you to get used to the shortcuts in the Rectangle app since there are many. Furthermore, you can also add some of your apps to exceptions if you want to keep them away from Rectangle's shortcuts.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Rectangle seems to be a lot more popular than Pfetch. While we know about 479 links to Rectangle, we've tracked only 8 mentions of Pfetch. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Pfetch mentions (8)

  • Pure Bash Bible
    > does NetBSD sh or FreeBSD sh have them. Yes and yes. My FreeBSD machine has not even been updated in 5 years, if that helps. > What's the point of "pure sh" if it's restricted to specific versions of shells. The aforementioned features have been implemented for a very long time. The issues with old versions of dash I mentioned were crashes for very simple things, which is simply a bug rather than some fancy... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Fresh gnome 44 setup
    The terminal in use is console, with pfetch and zsh-powerlevel10k. Source: about 3 years ago
  • VanillaOS logo for pfetch
    If you know pfetch, I recently rewrote it in Rust and also added a bunch of logos, including one for Vanilla OS. Source: over 3 years ago
  • SteamOS logo for pfetch
    The logo is also backwards compatible with the original pfetch by dylanaraps written in POSIX sh, if you prefer that. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Updated Pop! OS logo in pfetch-rs
    If you have used pfetch before, I rewrote it in Rust, resulting in an about 10x faster execution time. It also includes a new ascii logo for Pop! OS that was made by Github user ThomasM92 for the original pfetch, but was sadly never merged. Source: over 3 years ago
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Rectangle mentions (479)

  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Released
    As a both old Linux and now decade user of MacOS, after I got used to no middle-click paste and no focus-follows-mouse: 1. Keyboard shortcuts are Emacs, Ctrl-A: start of line, E: end of line, K: kill selected or to end of line, Y to paste, etc. https://support.apple.com/en-au/102650#text 2. Karabiner elements (FOSS) fixes keyboard mappings outside of the Settings: https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/ 3. I have the... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Native Instant Space Switching on macOS
    Every macOS user uses Rectangle.app โ€” https://rectangleapp.com The ones who don't use it is because they donโ€™t know it exists. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Native Instant Space Switching on macOS
    I use https://rectangleapp.com/ and enjoy it. I have shortcuts to move windows to the left/right half of the screen, and cycle between monitors. This, combined with native cmd+tab and cmd+` is enough for me. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Make macOS consistently bad (unironically)
    Rectangle [1] is pretty much essential for me because of this. I use only a few keypresses (maximize window, move to one of the halves of the screen horizontally) but that is enough. My mouse very rately interacts with the borders of any window, or those buttons. I had to click on the green one that you mentioned in order to see what it did (yuck). [1] https://rectangleapp.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Make macOS consistently bad (unironically)
    I use Rectangle [1] for window management. I only use three shortcuts: full screen, left half of the screen, and right half of the screen. My editors and chrome are always running in one of these modes. But for other apps like Messages, Notes, Music, etc - yeah I don't usually expand them to full screen. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Pfetch and Rectangle, you can also consider the following products

Neofetch - Fancier version of Screenfetch that displays colors and supports more platforms.

Magnet Window Manager - Magnet Developers

Screenfetch - Simple command-line tool that displays your distro's logo in text art form, your OS version...

yabai - A tiling window manager for macOS based on binary space partitioning

Archey 4 - Archey 4 is a system information tool written in Python

BTT Remote - A remote control for you Mac, using your iPhone or iPad